


A Winter's Ball (December 15)

by Kireii-yume (kireii_yume)



Series: Kireii-Yume's Christmas Advent Calendar! [15]
Category: Fire Emblem: Kakusei | Fire Emblem: Awakening
Genre: Dances, F/M, as slow burn as a oneshot can get, i guess, sort of slow burn, winter's ball
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-16
Updated: 2016-12-16
Packaged: 2018-09-08 21:48:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,172
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8863969
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kireii_yume/pseuds/Kireii-yume
Summary: Two outcasts at the Ylisse winter's ball make each other's holidays a touch happier.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you guys enjoy this! This is my first time writing either of these characters, hope they're in character and you enjoy them!

The castle practically glowed with the winter ball’s evening splendor. Lords and ladies danced together, twirling gracefully around the dance floor. Skirts, all brightly colored, spiraled through the hall, turning and spinning and creating a beautiful, hypnotic image, especially with the small forms of the men, in suits, seeming to weave in between all the skirts. With the warm glow of candlelight all around the entire ballroom, it provided a beautiful contrast to the howling snowstorm outside. The juxtaposition made all the partygoers feel even warmer and more comfortable, and everyone seemed happy.

All except two lone figures, standing to the side of the masses and looking thoroughly out of place. 

Lon’qu simply stood by the door, halfway into the hall to escape all of the people. He was even tenser than he’d ever be before going into battle—veins practically stood out on his neck, and he’d insisted on wearing his scabbard and sword to the ball, which he was now clutching like a lifeline. His knuckles looked utterly white, and people avoided him just because they were afraid he’d instinctively murder them on the spot. All the better for Lon’qu. He shivered under every woman’s gaze, and each time one passed him, he breathed deeply and just waited for them to leave. It was a tense situation, one that he absolutely hated and wanted to leave. But Chrom insisted that he be here, so he stayed. 

Panne, for her part, was sort of used to her isolation. Of course, being the last of her kind, she was used to being the only taguel in the room. She’d outgrown her self-consciousness at her large, soft ears, and her strange skin markings that only taguels bore. However, the ball only accentuated this difference. The daring gowns that most women wore only seemed to expose and accentuate these differences more, and no beautiful, elegant updo seemed to fit with her ears. On top of that, she had no one to attend the ball with, seeing as most humans shied away taguels on principle. It felt like a slap in the face, watching everyone dance together and simply being stared at like an animal in a zoo. It made her blood boil. She’d only come because Chrom, an honorable one of the man-spawn, had asked her to. But that wasn’t going to last long. One perfect, normal couple stared at her, pointed, and moved away as quickly as possible, and Panne decided this wasn’t worth her time. She strode around the edge of the ballroom, glaring at nothing, and leaving as fast as possible. Everyone who she passed shied away from her, and each new person who did felt like a slap in the face. So when the final person she saw, the swordsman, backed away and looked as if he was about to injure her, she was not about to take it lying down.

“Man-spawn!” she barked, glaring at him and staring daggers. “I am sick of your kind fearing me! Why do you fear me when it is your kind that has taken absolutely everything from me?! I have done you no wrong, I have never once offended you! I am not here for your gawking, I am not here to be ran away from like a monster! I have done nothing to deserve this! Explain yourself!” With every step she advanced further on him, and with every step, she saw the fear grow in his eyes. 

“BACK AWAY!” he shouted. Panne, startled momentarily, stopped. “I will explain if you take a step back!” Still enraged, Panne gritted her teeth, but she did step back two small paces. “I do not fear your kind. The taguel hasn’t done anything to me. Women, however, have, and you are as much a woman as any of those people in the ballroom. I don’t appreciate their proximity and I do not appreciate yours.” 

“Then why would you attend an event like this?” Panne asked, taking a couple more steps back for his comfort. 

“I was asked to. I am, in fact, a man of honor, and I do what those who are honorable ask of me.” Panne nodded.

“I do admit this is the only reason that I’m attending this ritual of the man-spawn,” she said, glaring at the ballroom. None of the Shepherds were even visible; no one remained who would socialize with her. “I don’t remember what you are called.”

“Lon’qu.” The man in question glared at the ballroom as well, taking another step away. But soon he took one more look at Panne, glancing over her attire. Admittedly, though she did strike fear into his heart, something about her continued to draw his gaze. The dress, though unconventional, seemed more daring than any other woman’s; though it showed little of her body, it accentuated all the parts of her that were taguel. It sent a message, seeming to practically dare someone to comment on her race. She didn’t conceal who she was, she showed it proudly, and something about that highly appealed to Lon’qu. And because of that, he stopped shying away, even when she took one small step toward him. “And you are Panne,” he confirmed. Panne nodded. 

“You are the first man-spawn who has asked my name, and for that I am grateful. Many just call me a bunny.” She spit the last word with disdain, glaring at the ballroom. “I have to admit, I do not always feel welcome here.” Lon’qu nodded.

“My home is far from here,” he added. “Ylisse is not familiar to me.”

“Where is your home?” Panne asked.

“Regna Ferox. When it snows like this sometimes I’m reminded of it. The temperature keeps many away, but I have to admit I miss it.” Panne smiled. She took another slight step forward, and Lon’qu seemed to allow it. After that, the conversation died and the room filled with a palpable silence, but neither seemed to mind. No one tried to make awkward conversation, they simply watched the party and each other, left to their own thoughts. It was refreshing, Lon’qu thought, to find a person who didn’t have the need to fill every single moment with conversation and appreciated his brand of quiet contemplation. After a few more minutes where Panne finally felt a smile creep onto her face and Lon’qu tried to conceal the acceleration of his heartbeat, one that had nothing to do with fear, the partygoers started to leave, and Panne made eye contact with Lon’qu. 

“Thank you, Lon’qu, for showing me that this ritual is not something that only causes exasperation.” Lon’qu nodded, a slight blush rising to his cheeks.

“I must thank you for doing the same,” he replied. “I hope I’ll get to see you again.”

“Likewise,” Panne replied, before she turned and exited the hallway. As a blast of cold air engulfed her, Lon’qu continued to stare, ignoring everything else. Any other social function only caused him frustration…however, this winter’s ball might have actually brought him something wonderful.

**Author's Note:**

> My tumblr is [here](http://kireii-yume.tumblr.com)


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